Captain KJ’s Personal Photo Album

Captain KJ’s Personal Photo Album

John and Ben are two of my best friends. The night before I headed out on deployment, we had a goodbye steak dinner (and my last “adult beverage” for a long time).

Learning to shoot in May 2002, when I was in officer training school in Montgomery, Alabama. This was an empty gun—we were in the classroom before we hit the range. My friend told me to look like I was ready to shoot someone.

Back when I was helping to develop a new system for use on F-15E fighters in November 2003, the six of us lieutenants who worked on the project went on “orientation flights” to learn what it’s like to be on a fighter. I got to ride in the backseat and do several inverted maneuvers and target practice. I even targeted a couple of the “bombs”! It was unforgettable.

Saying goodbye to my cat Azrael before leaving for Iraq.

My other cat, Grimalkin. My brother, his wife and their one-year-old son are taking care of my kitties while I’m gone.

In the passenger terminal at Al Udeid Air Base in the country of Qatar, on the way to Baghdad. You can see the sheen of sweat; it was very hot and very sticky, even though October is the cool time of the year for them.

By Saddam’s head. How the mighty have fallen!

Here I am getting sworn into office as a captain. I only stumbled over the oath once—something about the phrase “without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion” is just a little too much of a tongue twister. It was a proud day, though a little disconcerting; I can remember when my dad used to be Captain Bentson!

This is all the gear I wore daily for Contingency Skills Training, a military course I took last September. CST is where a bunch of Air Force lawyers, chaplains and other office-bound types get together and learn how to do field operations, urban combat, convoy operations and other cool military things that we don’t usually get to do. If something bad happens, now we know we won’t be liabilities!

Should one be amused? I’m on the right, doing combat first aid training. Note my expression. I’m not quite sure what I was smiling about, because this was a pretty demanding exercise. I react oddly to stress at times. That must be it. Oh, and my hair was not purposefully down; it managed to fall down as I climbed over a wall.

We had a “duck and cover” on this day—that’s when fiery mortars or rockets are falling in the vicinity, and the alarm sounds. We had to put on our full gear…to work at our computers. How very Air Force of us.

My roommate, Tracy, and I in the coffee shop in the Embassy, where we work. She’s in the Navy, deployed from Southern California. Like most of my Navy friends around here, she misses being on a ship. We considered a Charlie’s Angels pose, but realized that the other patrons might not think it was that cute, since we’re carrying real weapons and all.

My side of the trailer where I live. The flag on the wall is a picture from the care packages that they handed out to us in Qatar when we landed. It was colored in by a “Ty Bryant.” Kind of odd to be one of the soldiers for whom such things are made….

My style is contagious! I inspired my roommate to put up pictures, cards and stickers on her side, too.

I spend about one day a week running in and out of here doing my laundry. These machines seriously wear out your clothing! (Perhaps it’s good that I left about half of what I was intending to bring with me at home.)

A shot of the former palace in Baghdad, now the Embassy. This is where I work. We’re isolated within blast walls that separate the International Zone from the rest of the city. You can’t see them in this photo, but trust me, they’re there. You hear jokes about being in prison fairly often.

What I see all day: This is my view up over the computer. It is a very familiar sight to me, but I’m sure someday I’ll want to remember it. That whiteboard lists all of our points of contact to get information so we can tell the commander about what’s happening in Iraq.

All the components of my lunch break: knitting, computer, DVDs, pictures to put up on the wall…. Since we work 14-plus hours a day, we get a two-hour break for personal time. This is when the gung-ho go to the gym, but my tastes incline toward more leisurely pursuits.

My little rebellion from being in uniform. I’ve usually got on striped socks in some odd color combination underneath the camo.

Lunch and cake on my birthday. These are office-mates and friends.

The DFAC (Dining FACility), where all of us eat. It’s a little more crowded because it’s Thanksgiving, but this is what meals look like for me on most days.

At the Christmas Eve party with two other captains. For Christmas, I got a bunch of packages from family, friends and coworkers back home: lots of scented lotions and shower products, striped socks (naturally!), DVDs, books and craft materials. Perfect!

A day off: Wearing my hair down is something I can only do in private these days!